Home

search contact us about us

Glossaries

A-Z grammar terms A-Z confused pairs "parts of speech" lists

Punctuation Lessons

using apostrophes using colons using commas using dashes using hyphens using brackets using semicolons using quotation marks

English Idioms

50 common idioms 50 funny idioms 50 clever idioms 50 sarcastic idioms

Vocabulary Lessons

vocabulary lists vocabulary games

Personification

What Is Personification? (with Examples)

Personification is ascribing a human trait or ability to a concept or a non-human object.

Personification is an example of figure language, which is the use of words in an unusual or imaginative manner. Personification can be considered a metaphor, which asserts that one thing is something that it literally is not.

Examples of Personification

Here are some examples of personification:

• The trees whispered in the wind.
• The flowers danced in the grass.
• The sun kissed the ocean.
• I could hear the hamburger calling my name.

You Can Use Speech Marks with Personification

You can use speech marks to show your readers that a word is not being used in its true sense. Speech marks are therefore acceptable with personification. For example:

• These waves "know" when you're not holding on.

The use of speech marks to show personification is not popular with writers as most feel it reduces the impact of the personification.